Squamata, Scincidae, Mabuya dorsivittata (Cope, 1862): distribution extension in Buenos Aires province, Argentina

ISSN 1809-127X (online edition)
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Argentina

Jorge Williams’ and Federico Kacoliris

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Mabuya dorsivttata is a generalist lizard that uses
a wide variety of habitats, like grasslands, forest, and
rocky surfaces (Gallardo 1968; Cei 1993), besides some
observations of aquatic habits (Gudynas 1980).

The known distribution of this lizard includes a
great portion of Argentina, Bolivia (up to Santa Cruz de
la Sierra), southeastern Brasil and Uruguay (Gallardo
1968; Cei 1993). In Argentina, the distribution range
includes the provinces of Salta, Chaco, Formosa, Tucuman,
Catamarca, Santiago del Estero, Cordoba, Santa Fé, a
great part of Mendoza, Misiones, Corrientes, Entre Rios
and Buenos Aires (Cei 1993). In Buenos Aires, there are
confirmed records (with voucher specimens) only for the
northern sector of the province and from Mar del Plata city
(Liebermann 1939).

In the present work, two new confirmed records are
presented for M. dorsivittata. Voucher specimens are
deposited in the herpetological section of the Museo
de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first record
(MLP.R.5366) from Azul city (36°46’50” S, 50°51’10” W),
at the center of the Buenos Aires Province, and the second

100km 200km

FIGURE 1. Records of Mabuya dorsivittata in Buenos Aires province.
North of Buenos Aires (1) and Mar del Plata city (2) represent the
previous records, whereas Mar del Tuyu city (3) and Azul city (4) are the
new records.

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Journal of species lists and distribution

Squamata, Scincidae, Mabuya dorsivittata (Cope, 1862):
Distribution extension in Buenos Aires province,

Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo de La Plata, Divisi6n Zoologia de Vertebrados, Seccién Herpetologia.
Paseo del Bosque s/n. CP1900, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
* Corresponding author. E-mail: williams@museo.fcnym.unlp.edu.ar

ABSTRACT: Mabuya dorsivttata is a lizard with a wide distribution in South America. In Buenos Aires province, Argentina,
previous voucher records exist only from its northern sector and from Mar del Plata city. In this work, two new records of M.
dorsivittata from Buenos Aires province are presented: (1) Azul city (36°46’50” S, 50°51’10” W) and (2) Mar del Tuyu city
(37°20’08” S, 59°07’60” W). These new records are located about 175 km from the nearest previous record.

(MLP.R.5465) from Mar del Tuy coastal city (37°20’08”
S, 59°07’60” W). The new records are approximately 260
km (Azul) and 280 km (Mar del Tuyu) S from previous
records in the north of Buenos Aires province, and 175 km
(Azul) and 240 km (Mar del Tuyu) from Mar del Plata city
(Figure 1). The new records come from different habitats,
being Azul sector dominated by high pampas grasslands
and Mar del Tuyu, a coastal dunal area dominated by low
to medium grasslands. Cei (1993) suggests an irregular
distribution for this lizard, though more surveys are
necessary to confirm whether that irregularity is related
with the species distribution or with the absence of
extensive surveys at intermediate localities. It is also
possible that these records could be related with human
process of species dispersion, as it was described for this
lizard in San Juan Province (Gémez and Acosta 1998).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Club de Ciencias de la Costa and Departamento de
Zoonosis Rurales de Azul (Ministerio de Salud de la Provincia de Buenos
Aires) gave voucher specimens for this work. JW and FK salaries were
extended by Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Técnicas.
Camila Cass made valuable suggestion on the manuscript.

LITERATURE CITED

Gallardo, J.M. 1968. Las especies argentinas del género Mabuya Fitzinger.
Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Zoologia 9: 177-
196.

Cei, J.M. 1993. Reptiles del Noroeste, Nordeste y Este de la Argentina.
Herpetofauna de las selvas subtropicales, puna y pampas. Torino:
Museo Regionali di Scienze Naturali (Monografie 14). 950 p.

Gomez, P.F and J.C. Acosta. 1998. Introduccién accidental de reptiles
y anfibios en el departamento de Caucete, San Juan, Argentina.
Multequina 7: 73-75.

Gudynas, E. 1980. Notas adicionales sobre la distribuci6n, ecologia y
comportamiento de Mabuya dorsivittata. Contribuciones en Biologia
CE. Don Orione 2: 1-13.

Liebermann, J. 1939. Catalogo sistematico y bibliografico de los Lacertilios
argentinos. Physis 16: 61-82.

RECEIVED: April 2010

LAST REVISED: June 2011

ACCEPTED: June 2011

PUBLISHED ONLINE: June 2011

EDITORIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Renato S. Bérnils

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